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Mopping Up YouTube's Slop Flop
What we can learn from YouTube redefining "repetitious content".

This Week: What is authentic? What is repetitive? I have a feeling we’ll be focusing on that a lot more in the coming months. Plus two amazing research reports you need to see on creator compensation and gaming’s growing place in the creator economy
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💡 TOP STORIES

YouTube updated their policy on inauthentic content (aka “repetitious content”) last week and the world freaked out. Their focus on “mass produced and repetitious content” was widely interpreted as a crack down on AI slop farms. A flurry of recalibration followed, with Creator Liaison Rene Ritchie and the official Team YouTube X channel doing the internet equivalent of “nothing to see here, move along”.
Either way, it won’t combat the impending AI disruption of creators.
From a financial perspective, the more AI pulls viewers away from YPP-eligible creators, the better it could be for YouTube’s bottom line. Why? Because as long as aggregate viewing time of ad-friendly content rises, fewer YPP-eligible views means more money for YouTube and less for creators.
There’s a big unknown here: Will YouTube consider fully AI-generated content YPP eligible? This new policy hints at a direction, marking “mass produced” content as non-YPP eligible. But it’s only a baby step. Soon, mass-produced AI stories will rival today’s “authentic” content. What happens then?
There’s big money at stake. Assume 75% of YouTube’s current views are YPP-eligible. That means YouTube pays creators roughly $41 of every $100 it earns via video ads. Now imagine 30% of those views shift to AI content, and none qualify for rev share. YouTube’s payout drops to $29 per $100. The rest? Stays in-house.
Want to keep your slice?
Start experimenting with AI content that still feels “authentic”, while leaning hard into what makes your hero content uniquely human. If you’re already in YPP and making stories people love, I don’t see demonetization happening just because some videos are AI generated. But stranger things have happened.
For example, I sold my YouTube MCN to Discovery back when big media partners got a 70% rev share. My earn-out was guaranteed! Until YouTube strong-armed them (and everyone else) back to 55%-45%. So yeah, I’ve seen how fast the rules can change.
It’s not just a YouTube issue. YouTube creators might be the most insulated from the coming AI storm. Want proof? @Rob Gabel went slop-fishing on TikTok. His eye-popping results: Over half the videos served to new users were AI generated.
I’ll be asking Rene Ritchie about all of this at Open Sauce on Friday (he’s speaking). Use this 10% off coupon, OSICE1025, to buy your “Industry Admission” ticket today.
One last thing. Why the big fuss over what looks like a minor update? Because we’re entering a creator AI backlash that could rival the crypto cancel from 2022-2204.
TIME FOR CREATORS
Time came out with its list of the top 100 most influential digital voices of 2025. Fun list, but the categories are odd. Would you rather be a Titan, Leader, Phenom, Catalyst or Entertainer? Maybe the best answer is “Yes”? At any rate, so great to see so many great global creators on the list. These lists often have the rock-star publicists’ fingerprints all over them – but still it’s an interesting stake in the ground. And as @monica Khan relates, they are finally discovering B2B creators! (Time)
ONE BOURBON, ONE SCOTCH, ONE ROAD TRIP
Ryan Trahan is up to something epic. 50 states, 50 days, 50 videos, all to raise money for St Jude. He hit his $2M goal after his 20th video posted. And each video is over 20 minutes long – 20+ hours of content when all is said and done. I wonder if he ever heard of George Thorogood’s 50/50 tour in the eighties. (YouTube)
LOOSE ENDS, UPDATES AND CORRECTIONS
Platforms Are Not Your Friends: I had a couple of conversations with experts over some of my predictions and commentary over the past few weeks. First up, on back-catalog licensing, although algorithms may not specifically be the culprit, clearly buying back-catalog rights is less lucrative today than it was 4 years ago. It’s a good reminder to me that just because things change, it can’t always be blamed on algorithms. They tend to be a catch-all for anything that changes at the big platforms.
But also a reminder that algorithms are designed to benefit the company, by optimizing for increased watch-time, more satisfaction and, yes, increased profit per minute spent watching. Some platforms take the long view, while others are more immediate. But in any case, building entirely on rented land remains a risky business, as for-profit companies are organized to, well, increase profit. When objectives are aligned, it’s wonderful. When orthogonal, watch out.
Translation and MLA: Even though AI translation has trouble with emotional content, the entire space is changing quickly. As is lip syncing. As one industry expert said to me, “AI is about to make localization cheaper but also WAY BETTER – and global narratives are going to explode”. We have a panel about this at Open Sauce this Friday morning. Don’t miss it!
🩳 QUIBIS
Here are a few other things that caught my eye.
YouTube Insider Expands! The Dhar Mann / Sean Atkins charm offensive continues with a sit down with @Rene Ritchie from YouTube. Good listen but also notable because YouTube Insider now has its own dedicated channel! (YouTube)
HLS Streaming Comes to Podcasts: Finally podcast listeners subscribed via RSS can seamlessly switch between audio and video with just one feed – and with backwards compatibility. This is a huge breakthrough as podcasts transition from audio only to audio and video. (Transistor.FM)
Podcasting at Walmart: New studios opening up at the US mass merchant. Shark jumping anyone? (Create-It Studios)
$200Bn At Risk: @Mike Shields explores whether AI will disrupt retail media (Next In Media).
2025 H1 Strategic Update: @James Creech just released his latest report on mergers and acquisitions in the creator economy for the first half of 2025. (Quartermast Advisors)
Bring It On! Looks like more sports celebs are headed to LinkedIn (Marketing Brew).
Well Deserved: @Rachell Marie Hofstetter (Valkyrae) and @Chris Williams to be honored at the annual “Creators in Action” event in September. (Saban Community Clinic)
You Can’t Get There from Here: The Difference between creators and media companies. TLDR: Distribution. (LinkedIn – @avi gandhi)
🎭 BEHIND THE CURTAIN
One of the reasons why I like writing this every week is it helps clarify my opinions. For instance, I rewrote this week’s lead story on YouTube’s repetitive content shift at least three times as my opinion on what was really going on changed.
There’s another reason too – but that will wait until next week!
📊 RESEARCH
Breaking the $15k Ceiling
The new Creator Earnings report from NeoReach lays out an unfortunate truth: more than half of creators still make under $15,000 a year. But it also offers a way forward. The highest earners follow a pattern: diversify into non-video content like newsletters, podcasts, and photos, and reframe your perspective from artist to entrepreneur.
The report also pegs the number of global creators at 127 million, with nearly 60% considering themselves full time. The most troubling finding? Only 43% of full-time creators earn what qualifies as a living wage in the U.S ($44,000). It also found that Instagram leads all platforms in revenue per creator across, TikTok falls behind and despite the diversification recommendation, video still outperforms other formats. Based on a self-reported survey of 3,000+ global creators during 1H25, the data is strongly directional, but not predictable across creators globally. (NeoReach)
“Creators” Dominate Gaming
If gamers aren’t part of your strategy, it might be time to recalibrate. A new global Dentsu report shows just how deeply gaming impacts GenZ’s fandom and purchase patterns. With 3.4B gamers worldwide, gaming is clearly “where people connect, belong and build culture” at scale.
A few stats:
GenZ spends 2.5 hours a day on Roblox alone
44% of Twitch viewers have purchased products recommended by their favorite streamers
GenZ and Millennial gamers are 82% more likely to discover new brands and products through creator endorsements. Time to rethink your marketing strategy if you aren’t considering gamers.
And it’s not just streaming, gamers also like short-form content from creators and brands that feels native, not forced. The next wave of breakout creators will likely come from UEFN, Roblox or Minecraft, not traditional platforms.
The study combined data from a variety of studies, mostly from late 2024 and 2025. It offers strong directional signals for where this ecosystem is headed. (Denstu)Lorum Ipsum Dolar
📍 Where’s Jim? Did you hear about Open Sauce? Use this 10% off coupon, OSICE1025, to buy your “Industry Admission” ticket today.
100% written by me – no human or AI ghostwriters were involved in the production (except for the cover art!).
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